'American Idol' auditions, such as this one from Charlotte, N.C., still draw big audiences, but they're not as big as they used to be. / Michael Becker/FOX

by Brian Mansfield, Special for USA TODAY

by Brian Mansfield, Special for USA TODAY

So let me get this straight: The big blow-up between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey was an argument about country music?

Oh, this American Idol season could get weird.

And if it does, the contestants from Charlotte will provide some of the color. Among the 37 contestants sent from the Queen City to Hollywood: A female frog gigger, a black alt-rock singer with a jones for Johnny Cash, a formerly homeless street singer and a girl named Summer whom the judges probably won't even remember seeing because they were too busy bickering amongst themselves.

Summer made the mistake of telling the judges that she "did the country thing," a choice of words that told Keith Urban she didn't take his style of music all that seriously. Summer auditioned with Lean on Me, and sang it well enough to get through to Hollywood, but not before getting a lecture from Carey for being dismissive of a genre of music that suited her voice so well.

When it finally was her turn to speak, Minaj started with, "For a minute, I thought it was a country music debate." As she tried to defend Summer's comments, all the simmering tension came to a boil, with a four-way argument that ended with Minaj walking out.

In a season where few early front-runners have emerged, a couple more dust-ups like that could send ratings spiraling downward. And even the contestants weighed in, with one telling the judges the next day: "Please don't fight. It makes us sad."

Fortunately, Charlotte also produced a few singers worth rooting for, notably returning contestant Candice Glover, who was cut during last season's Las Vegas round. Glover had noticeably improved, prompting Jackson to tell her that she was the best audition he had heard to that point in the season. And she was almost certainly on his mind later, when he said the Charlotte stop had produced "some top 10s, some top fives, maybe a winner."